As years went by and locomotive hauled trains
disappeared into history, the importance of a good range of DMU models grew. However, it
was Bachmann who saw the potential of this market and opted for some of the most widely
used classes. Hornby had produced the 'Pacer' and had the tooling for the Dapol 'Super
Sprinter' but their main thrust remained steam, diesel and electric locomotives. With the
acquisition of Lima's Class 156 tooling, they were able to claw back some of the modern
DMU business, for here was a class that has seen many parts of the country and appeared in
a good range of liveries. In three years the Hornby selection of Class 156 DMUs has risen
to five with a sixth, Northern Rail (Settle & Carlisle), still to be delivered. Two of
the most recent versions are illustrated here.
R2693 preserves the ONE livery that is soon to disappear. It is a livery that generated quite a lot of interest when it was introduced, such a short time ago. Early versions of the livery had a metallic grey-blue for the main body colour but the current one is a plain matt blue-grey. However, it still has the striking rainbow colour flashes at each end. The 2-car unit is numbered 156416 and the individual cars carry the numbers 57416 and 52416.
The ScotRail version (R2695) is in the very striking dark violet First Group livery with pink and white lining and white doors. The unit is numbered 156465 and the two cars carry the numbers 57465 and 52465.
Model Railway Express
Run by model railway enthusiasts, Modelfair is an online shop specialising in new, pre-owned and collectable model railways. http://www.modelfair.com for friendly and reliable service.
For Hornby and spares for Hornby, Electrotren, Lima (HO), Jouef and Rivarossi visit www.hornbyspares.co.uk
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